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Arm break on the NRL Footy Show

As with any physical sport there is always the risk of injury, and as everyone saw last night on the NRL Footy Show armwrestling is no exception and injuries can and do happen occasionally.

Unfortunately when you have 2 very strong athletes placing opposing pressures on each others arms there is a chance that something will give. In this case both competitors were centre of the table when the arm broke and in a very neutral and safe position by armwrestling standards.

It was an unlucky and unexpected accident and full credit to Channel Nine and the Footy Show staff for reacting as fast as they did in helping Ben get immediate medical care. Ben is recovering well and in good hands at the North Shore hospital and we certainly wish him the speediest recovery from everyone at the Australian Armwrestling Federation.

Some key learnings from this unfortunate injury is that:

Armwrestling is a professional sport that involves a lot of power, speed, strength and technique

injuries can and do happen - particularly when amateur (who are not experienced) armwrestlers get into awkward and dangerous body positions or are not seasoned or trained

Armwrestling, just like any other physical sport, has inherent risks (like broken arms). These are typically low likelihood but high consequence injuries and are similar in nature to broken limbs or torn ligaments in rugby (union & league) or AFL.

it's important to learn the safe way to Armwrestle. Do this by contacting the AAF state representatives ( http://www.armwrestlingaustralia.com/clubs/ ) and join your local Armwrestling club to learn these safe techniques

the AAF run regular (free) Armwrestling training sessions across the country to promote safe Armwrestling techniques and to coach newbies interested in the sport. Many of these clubs train with Australian national and state champions who know how to Armwrestle.

the AAF will continue to promote state, national and world Armwrestling championships and encourages competitors to join their local club before competing.